Is lane-splitting legal in Texas?

[txmatt]

It irks me to no end when motorcyclist or bicyclist do this. They can wait their time in line just like any other vehicle on the highway.

This is one of those things that really needs to work both ways. I ride a bike (used to ride a motorcycle). I never lane split with the motorcycle - never wanted to. I was another car out there (just one with amazing acceleration). But it is a bit more tricky with the bicycle in that I am not nearly as equal. For the record, I ride in the shoulder whenever I can - and I plan my routes so that I ride the most bike friendly streets possible. But I do actually lane split some on the bike - usually when trying to turn left and it is the only way I can get across the road without becoming road pizza. This is a safety thing for a bicycle when riding on a 65mph street and trying to turn left at a stop light. I can't get over without waiting until traffic is stopped. And then if I were to take my place in line, I would get run over from behind since I can't accelerate to 45 prior to the turn. So I position myself as far outside as possible and turn straight to the new shoulder. To do anything else is dangerous for both me and the other drivers.

Necessity and safety trump laws sometimes. The car drivers need to respect the bicycles as well.

Well said. That is exactly the situation I was thinking of, and it's pretty much the only case where I consistantly lane split on my bicycle. There simply isn't another way to safely get through the turn and staying in the lane would inconvience motorists (and probably get me killed). I never lane split on my motorcycle.

[jimlongley]

follow the cites to make sure).

Sorry, but I stand by my statement - the Wikipedia entry I made up was complete with citations and links, some ok, some bogus.

And I still think lane splitting is a very bad idea.

[dukesean]

lane splitting is illegal in Texas.

You wouldn't want to do it anyways, being on a motorcycle is dangerous enough - you don't need to sandwich yourself between two steel cages running at 60mph to add more danger.

[flb_78]

Lane splitting should be legal. It's a good way to clear up a congested area of traffic. It's not only legal in California, but it's encouraged. The only thing that California does right.

Lane splitting is safer for a motorcyclist then sitting in traffic.

[The Annoyed Man]

This is not going to make me any additional friends, I guess...

Lane splitting in California is definitely legal. I did it for years, sometimes with a CHP motorcycle officer either right in front of or right behind me. In L.A. traffic, it is a survival tool. I never blew past other cars in a way to frighten or startle other drivers, and once the traffic was moving, even if only 10-15 mph, I kept in my lane. But in dense L.A. freeway traffic, with L.A. smog, and L.A. heat, keeping the bike moving is a way to stay alive. I almost passed out once on the 134 freeway out in the San Fernando valley, stuck in traffic on a 105º day, on a motorcycle. I was a novice rider, and afraid to split the lanes. The pavement temperature was brutal. I was stifling in a leather jacket and full face helmet. The engine idling underneath me was radiating large amounts of additional BTUs upward, and I was caught in a cloud of noxious car exhaust. I literally nearly passed right out, and right then and there I decided to get moving and started splitting the lanes. As soon as I got air flowing through my helmet, I started feeling better. From then on, I was a lane splitter.

As I said, I always tried to be as courteous as possible when passing car drivers this way, and also as I said, once traffic was moving even a bit, I would stop doing it. But I still ran into the occasional cretin who would try to throw a door open into me, throw a beer can at me, or something like that. You have to be a twisted SOB to do something like that to another human being who has not threatened you.

When I've ridden in other states where it isn't legal - Arizona, for instance - I've obeyed the laws. But in California it is definitely legal.

[anygunanywhere]

Yes, it was legal in Kalifornia, but as with everything else, those that push the boundaries make the rest look bad. Some bikers like to split lanes at 70+ mph.


Anygun

[k6gixx]

I was told by THP that lane splitting for motorcycles is legal on highways only if traffic is moving slower than 20mph and the motorcycle is moving slower than 20mph. This is to keep motorcyclists from being turned into road kill by people not paying attention to traffic and only being mad about being stuck. They don't see the thin profile of a bike. Some truck drivers just plain can't see bikes in traffic. I personally have no problem, but again there are always people who exploit the system.

[WildBill]

What really surprised me is that during the Rita evacauation I did not see any motorcycles splitting lanes. Even when traffic was at a standstill. If it were me I would have been in between lanes at least moving.

[Skiprr]

I never blew past other cars in a way to frighten or startle other drivers, and once the traffic was moving, even if only 10-15 mph, I kept in my lane.

And that never bothered me in my 10 years in SoCal. But many others took (still take, I'm sure) the middle of the lane as open road even if traffic is jerking along at 0 to 10...and that's when it gets dangerous. In no small part because it's very difficult for your basic, run-of-the-mill commuter driver to judge great disparities in speeds relative to his own, even if he is checking the rearview mirror for oncoming lane splitters.

I witnessed a crash on the 405 southbound near Long Beach in the 80s, prior to the 1992 California helmet law. Guy on a rice rocket with a girl on the back, neither wearing a helmet. Heavy 4:00 p.m. traffic, and I saw them in my rearview mirror coming at a good clip between the far left and next-to-left lanes. Can't accurately guess at the speed, but when they passed me on my left while I was doing less than 10 or 15, I'd put my money on 35 or faster. A few cars in front of me, a small two-door changed lanes (none of the witnesses could confirm he signaled). The biker smacked into the rear quarter-panel. Evidently he got trapped somewhat by the handle bars and went face-first into the car's trunk before bouncing over; she was launched at a slight angle, and caromed of the side of a car two in front of the one changing lanes, so she was airborn for a good 25+ feet before glancing off that car and coming to rest probably 40-45 feet down the road.

Several of us jumped out of our cars, and one was an EMT. I had no training or equipment, and really didn't know what to do (the incident motivated me to take an emergency first-aid course a couple months later). It was not a pretty scene. The EMT made it clear the woman was DRT, and he worked on the guy. Life Flight got there in less than 10 minutes.

So as Jim said about the Wiki article, Victoria, Australia may have no recorded accidents resulting from lane splitting, but I'll gurantee Kalifornia does. Done safely at low speeds--and on highways where the lanes are wide enough to accommodate two trucks side-by-side and still have room in the middle--lane-splitting doesn't annoy me. Worst that can happen then (assuming one of said trucks doesn't roll over you if you go down) is a fender bender and maybe a broken limb or two. But I don't know how you'd enforce something like a "max 5 mph over ambient traffic, and no faster than 15 mph" sort of law. So, ultimately, I'm not a fan of lane-splitting. (This from a guy who grew up as a teenager on a motorcycle in a country where, more often than not, there were no marked lanes. )

[dozerboy]

I love lane splitters gives me a chance to test out my smoke tune on my diesel truck. Making 4 lanes of road disappear into a black fog just by flooring your truck is priceless.